To Catherine Wright: I enjoyed your "My View" piece in Wednesday's paper (CHN, June 24). I wonder if you might consider this: You could do much good by donating some of the materials you have saved to small daycare operations.

Many small daycare businesses have to operate on such a shoestring budget that they are not able to afford much in the way of arts and crafts supplies for the children. Often the parents of children cared for in such places (which are often the less expensive ones) cannot afford to indulge their kids' desire for artistic expression.

You could make your husband happier, de-clutter your house a bit (it's wonderful -- I did it and love it), help struggling business owners, help little kids have fun and have an outlet for artistic expression, and make more room at home for your collecting.

Obviously, it is the process of collecting that makes you happy, right? I say this since you intimate that you haven't used a fraction of what you've collected. If it is collecting that makes you happy, you could donate some of what you have collected, and you could continue to do a good thing by continuing to collect for the purpose of helping daycare children or perhaps centers which care for seniors or disabled people. There are many places where what your husband calls your "trash" would be welcomed with joy.

Just a thought...

Sue Burkett

Carrboro

Cost of visiting downtown is too steep

As I am out of school for the summer, I eagerly look forward to meeting friends for breakfast at Ye Olde Waffle House.

I park my car in the Planetarium parking lot. My breakfast was $5, to park for a couple of minutes under one hour was $2.50, and a panhandler stopped me for money on my way into the restaurant.

As a state employee who just sacrificed a half-percent pay cut, 10 hours of furlough, and the loss of school positions of many friends and colleagues, I wonder who can afford to frequent downtown Chapel Hill?

Lynne O'Neill

Chapel Hill

Group proposes solutions to waste

We wish to take issue with your characterization of our testimony in your editorial of June 21. In discussing public comment at the BOCC meeting on potentially siting a waste transfer station on Millhouse Road, you wrote: "...most of the recent chatter [about the Waste Transfer Station] has focused on where NOT to put a transfer station.."

You then quoted the Orange County Organizing Committee (OCOC) and the Sierra Club as saying only "Don't put it at White Cross." Your next paragraph says, "There's been a lot of that. Few people have offered positive ideas -- that is, ideas that propose a solution."

The Chapel Hill News clearly did not listen to the Orange County Organizing Committee's statement to the Board of County Commissioners, in which we suggested:

•Re-examine the assumption that a waste transfer station and hauling our trash elsewhere is the best long term solution to dealing with our trash.

•Look again at possible partnerships with Durham and Chatham counties, or other potential partners, including UNC and Carolina North, as was proposed by the Chapel Hill Sustainability Committee.

•Redouble your efforts to encourage waste reduction.

•Explore alternative ways of using the trash ... Think of it as a treasure trove of potential, not a stone around our collective necks.

•Analyze county growth patterns to ascertain where growth is occurring in the county.

•If the transfer station still looks like the best course of action, be sure all possible sites have been examined. In the last weeks it appears that less acreage is needed, which may open up other potential sites.

The Board of County Commissioners have time to do their jobs correctly and look into these other options, as it now appears that the landfill can stay open a year longer than previously thought. The BOCC should stop throwing money at consultants who have not helped them find real solutions.

Kathy Kaufman and Nancy Tunnessen Co-chairs, Environment Team, Orange County Organizing Committee

Tax would dissuade teen tobacco use

With all of the recent discussions of smoking bans, FDA regulations and "sin" taxes, it is important to examine the effects of tobacco on the youth of North Carolina and the benefits of a higher cigarette tax.

In order to protect N.C. teens, the State cigarette tax should be raised to at least $1. Orange County youth involved in the Tobacco Reality Unfiltered (TRU) group are extremely hopeful for this change.

When almost 4,000 young people start smoking every day in the U.S., every step in the direction of stricter tobacco laws is a tiny victory in the minds of the TRU Crew. As it is important for youth to keep the limited amount of cash they have in their pockets, a higher cigarette tax would make youth less likely to purchase tobacco products. The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids estimates that if the tax increases to $1 per pack, 17 percent fewer teens would smoke.

Aside from the fiscal benefits of the proposal, the lives of many youth and adult smokers will be saved due to higher taxes. This could save the lives of over 43,300 smokers in North Carolina from premature smoking-related deaths. Not to mention, the decrease in smoking will lead to healthier people and saving millions of dollars on medical costs.

The members of the Orange County TRU program would like to urge our House and Senate members to consider the benefits of a higher cigarette tax in North Carolina. By increasing the tax to $1, fewer young people would buy tobacco products or start at all. Through our work, we understand the importance of staying away from tobacco products. We hope our Legislators agree.

Shannen Jacobs

A graduate of the Orange County TRU Program

Measures needed to reduce deer population

I am a student at Glenwood Elementary School and along with other citizens I am concerned about Chapel Hill's deer overpopulation. In my opinion, the deer can be very destructive in neighborhood gardens, devouring flowers and bushes as well as vegetable plants. Deer also carry parasites like ticks and diseases like Rocky Mountain spotted fever and rabies, which can be transmitted from animals to people. At night, deer can make the street hazardous, as they dart across the road or just stand in front of an accelerating car. While some people think that deer accidents are OK for their vehicles, bucks with long, hard antlers can destroy the front bumper or a headlight.

I believe that you could reduce deer overpopulation by sterilizing most of the deer so they can't reproduce. We could put up stronger deer traps to help protect residents' gardens, too. I would also like to see Chapel Hill officials offer to any concerned citizen instructions on how they can prevent deer invasion. Hopefully the sterilization and trapping of deer will help the city provide safer streets at night and help florists be able to grow more backyard flowers. I hope you can find a solution to this growing problem.

Jasmine Alexander Greene

Chapel Hill

Stronger penalties would reduce littering

I strongly believe that there is too much littering in neighborhoods, parks, and other public places. This is horrible for the environment. Animals can get sick or even die! It also adds to community pollution. Not only is this harmful to the environment, it also makes our town a more unfriendly place to live. Everyone wants to have a nice, attractive town. These are just a few reasons why people should never litter.

I have the perfect solution. Littering should have larger fines and consequences. There should also be more trash cans. If there are more trash cans, people will throw away their trash. Please enforce new laws, so we can make Chapel Hill a better place to live.

Leila Ouchchy

Chapel Hill

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

The Chapel Hill News welcomes letters and columns from readers. Letters are limited to 300 words, columns to 550. Writers are limited to one letter a month and one column every three months. All submissions become property of The Chapel Hill News and McClatchy Newspapers.

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